JPMorgan Chase CEO Dimon: ‘Something is wrong with U.S.’

(NationalSentinel) Political Economy: In his annual letter to shareholders, JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon did not mince words when discussing the future of the United States: Without major institutional and structural changes, the outlook is bleak.

In his 45-page annual letter, Dimon ticked off ways that America is stronger than ever, but he then – in a longer list – ticked off “self-inflicted” problems he said were “upsetting” to list.

Here’s the start: Since the turn of the century, the U.S. has dumped trillions of dollars into wars, piled huge debt onto students, forced legions of foreigners to leave after getting advanced degrees, driven millions of Americans out of the workplace with felonies for sometimes minor offenses and hobbled the housing market with hastily crafted layers of rules.

Dimon, who sits on Donald Trump’s business forum aimed at boosting job growth, is renowned for his optimism and has been voicing support this year for parts of the president’s business agenda. In February, Dimon predicted the U.S. would have a bright economic future if the new administration carries out plans to overhaul taxes, rein in rules and boost infrastructure investment. In an interview last month, he credited Trump with boosting consumer and business confidence in growth, and reawakening “animal spirits.”

But on Tuesday, reasons for concern kept coming. Labor market participation is low, Dimon wrote. Inner-city schools are failing poor kids. High schools and vocational schools aren’t providing skills to get decent jobs. Infrastructure planning and spending is so anemic that the U.S. hasn’t built a major airport in more than 20 years. Corporate taxes are so onerous it’s driving capital and brains overseas. Regulation is excessive.

“It is understandable why so many are angry at the leaders of America’s institutions, including businesses, schools and governments,” Dimon, 61, noted. “This can understandably lead to disenchantment with trade, globalization and even our free enterprise system, which for so many people seems not to have worked.”

While Trump has only been in office 75 days, he has begun to deliver on some of the promises. He’s moved on regulations, picked Cabinet officials who are hyper-focused on taking an axe to onerous, job-killing rules, and he’s begun work on repealing the Obamacare disaster, even if that hasn’t happened yet.

But Dimon’s letter also serves as a warning shot across the bow: If the GOP Congress and the White House don’t find common ground on many of these major issues, voters will exact their toll at the ballot box, and sooner rather than later.

Beyond that, the survival of the country is literally at stake. Over-leveraged, over-taxed, over-regulated as it is, we cannot survive in social environment as politically charged as ours is, and that’s due mostly to the Marxist Left.

Many voters looked to Trump as the last chance to “fix” the country. He may very well be.